Pleased to present my Substack’s third guest collector: Substack creator Andrea Thorfinson, author of the book Mouse the Pretty Bird and Living is Easy with Eyes Closed: Meditation Techniques for People with Busy, Blank, or Wandering Minds. She also answered my “I write because …” questionnaire.
She collects “Stuffies” and “Porcelain Figurines”. Besides being an antique dealer with her husband, her collections have personal value and connections to her life and her family. Her collecting began at birth, you might say.
Some of her other collections include: crystals, books, clocks (vintage), old 50s wall pockets/plaques, which she will share in a future GUEST COLLECTIONS post here at Michael A. Horvich: Memoirs, Musings, & More.
Thank you, Andrea, for this glimpse into your life.
I’ll start with the stuffies
When I was born, I was given a striped-body Knickerbocker bunny. He quickly became my favorite, going everywhere with me, comforting me when I was sad, and keeping me company when I felt lonely. I named him Speedy Gonzales… yes, after the cartoon.
When I was 21, my roommate accidentally threw him out. I was absolutely devastated. Honestly? I still kind of am.
After my husband and I got married, I told him the story about Speedy. For over a year, he searched eBay for an identical bunny… and eventually he found TWO. They both live with me now.
As antique dealers, we’re constantly digging through estate sales and antique shops, and one day I found this floppy little bear who basically looked at me and said, “Take me home.” Of course I did. His name is P. Sellwood, and honestly, he and the two bunnies are what started the whole collection.
From there, it just snowballed. My husband started buying them for me as gifts, or I’d fall in love with some tiny face and quietly sneak another one into the checkout pile. Even my sons started bringing them home for me.
And yes… I may be 55 years old, but I’m still a little girl at heart. I sleep with a stuffy every night—they take turns. Although I will admit they are beginning to completely take over the bedroom. Shelves, dressers, corners … they’re everywhere.
Next, the porcelain figurines
I actually collect all kinds of cute porcelain animals and figurines because I’m a total sucker for adorable faces in general. But this particular collection is the largest. They are called Josef Originals’ “Buggy Bugs.”
About 10 years ago, I came across the very first one—a little butterfly—but at the time, I wasn’t collecting figurines yet, so I sold him as part of our business. The funny thing is, while packing him up to ship to his new home, I got genuinely sad and immediately regretted selling him.
So I started looking for him again. At the time, I had no idea there were so many different Buggy Bug characters. I was only looking for that one butterfly. Ironically, I didn’t find him again for another eight years! But during that search, I started collecting the others.
Some of them are surprisingly rare… and definitely not cheap. I’d say I’ve bought about half of them myself, while the other half have been gifts from my husband over the years. I have most of the Buggy Bugs now, but not quite all of them. I’m still hunting for the elusive “Cleopatra” and a few others … which, honestly, just makes collecting more fun.
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Thank you, Michael, for inviting me to share my... interesting collections lol. My 9-year-old gets scared coming into my bedroom. He says some of my stuffies are creepy! 😆
My husband accidentally sold my cabbage patch kids from childhood at a garage sale right after we got married and I’m still a little devastated too.